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History of Thurkear
This article concerns the rich and vast history of the world known by the dragons as Thurkear. The history is divided in Seven Eras or Eons (hailing from the dragon word eorikc which means year), and each of them begins after the previous one had suffered from a major cataclysm or war. Before the Dawn Many, many years ago, there was no life on the world. No plants on the earth, no fishes in de sea, no birds in the sky. Yet there were the Ancient Ones, beings created directly by the Dreamer to govern this world, before he withdrew. These four creatures of terrible power were all masters of one of the Old Magics, and of one of the Elemental Magics. Futhermore, they were immortal, as life hadn't been invented yet, and so had death. These beings were: Astyanax, the Sevenfold Dragon, Abotrameos, the Shark of Dream, Marinistantyo, the Demon Aflame, and Golamath, the Singing Giant. They all moved in their own affairs, and there was peace, for a time. It could not last, however. Soon, strife was between Astyanax and Marinistantyo, which grew out to a war, which drew the other two Ancient Ones in it as well. After milennia of fighting, the powers realized that they could not win this war; therefore, they accepted an uneasy truce. As part of keeping peace, they exchanged blood so that they would have some of the other's powers. In this exchange, drops of blood were wasted and mixed. And from this mixes of blood the first gods arose, awash with power. The First Era (0 - 3000 AD (After the Dawn)): The Golden Era The first three gods immediately sat to carve their own kingdoms out of the world. Instead of the Ancient Ones, who had divided the world by element, they all took a part of the world itself: one the sky, one the earth, and one the fires at the center. The Ancient Ones were enraged, and could yet take no actions against these creatures, for they were made of the blood exchanged, and represented therefore the truce between the powers. So they did nothing, and watched. The gods soon realized they would need reinforcements to their power, some magic of them alone. Therefore, they began to create something that would be credited to them. In short, they created both life and death. The Ancient Ones, as hailing before the creation of life and death, were immortal and not subject to the laws then passed. The gods themselves also stood above these laws, immortal as they were. This creation is known as the Dawn, and is the hallmark for modern time measuring. The life beings created were primitive in their intelligence, resulting in birds, plants, fish, and insects. Soon thereafter, there came mammals and beings more capable of intelligence. Finally, each of the gods created one perfect (in their eyes) being: the first humanoids. These beings soon started naming each of the wonders they saw, and started worshipping their creators. And the gods felt some entire new magic flow through them - divine magic. And they were pleased. Soon, there came other gods, created by the Elder Gods to be their messengers and generals. Together, they carved out a kingdom of great power and marvel. The Ancient Ones were stunned at these events, and conclaved about what to do with it, then. They finally agreed in making other forms of life themselves, but more like them in shape and appearance. This resulted in the creation of the dragons, aboleths, demons, and giants. They were (and are still) the most dangerous opponents to the gods and their followers; and therefore, they were named monsters. The Ancient Ones asked themselves what to do; however, it became apparent that these new beings had the desire to take over all of the world. And therefore, the Ancient Ones finally agreed to start the war on the newcomers. This war is known as the First War, or the Great War. And great it was. Entire parts of the land were sunk, mountains were levelled, seas parted, and much more in the titanic battle that followed. The gods were powerful, but then, so were the Ancient Ones. Their minions fought against eachother: dragons against elves, demons against humans, giants against dwarves. After centuries of fighting, the war resulted in a stalemate. Truce was signed under some conditions. The gods departed to their own realms within the Dream, while the Ancient Ones were to slumber until they were needed again. Second Era (3000 - 6500 AD): The Age of Despair The aftermath of the war left the humanoids without protection, as their lords and protectors departed to newly made realms. This caused many tribes to fall to savagery, living as primitive nomads. The Ancient Ones slumbered too, and did not watch over their lesser kin. This caused many of the dragons, demons, aboleths, and giants to become evil and cruel, and they started to raid the humanoids. Finally, however, some kingdoms emerged, and they were able to stabilize themselves, and some civilization prospered once more. Not all dragons had turned away from their roots, and many an elven king made a pact with a local family of dragons. The same happened with dwarves and giants, both creatures of the earth. The giants taught the dwarves the magic of runes, and the dwarves learned the giants the love for gems and gold and silver. The humans were scattered still, and though some kingdoms emerged, they were all quick to fall into barbarism again. It were harsh times for them, as they hadn't the inborn magics able to bargain with the 'monsters'. Finally, however, some kingdoms of men found stability. This was due to some influence of 'the gods', as they said. The gods they worshipped were, however, demon lords. These demons made the kingdoms more powerful, and in return they gained the gift of the Dawn - divine magic. This enstrengthened their position, and they influenced the humans to start a war on all the other kingdoms, in which the humans happily agreed. The demons themselves also went to war against the other people, and therefore violating the old pact between the Ancient Ones. The war was terrific, causing many of the settled kingdoms to fall back in barbarism once more. The War was later on called the Demon War. The violation awakened, at last, the Ancient Ones, and roaring, they arose from their hideouts. Their supreme power was such that they could end the war without too much effort. As a punishment for causing the war, the Demon Aflame was banished, along with his demonkin, to the realm of one of the Elder Gods within the Dream. The other Ancient Ones agreed that their old pact was over, however, they still kept to their oath, and went aslumber after the war. Third Era (6500 - 9000 AD): The Age of Kingdoms This era, people slowly recovered. New gods emerged, as people tended to worship new ones. Civilization recovered, and trade was restored. People were first able to map the entire world around them, and name many of the wonders they saw. The dragons, feeling they owed the humanoids something, agreed to teach them in the higher ways of magic. This caused, eventually, to bring the world to a grade of civilization the world had not seen since the Golden Age. Many wonders were created in that time: artifacts of great power, constructions of great marvel, devices of great practicality. After some thousand years had passed, the world was divided in three High Kingdoms: the Forest Realms of Arvandor, the Mountain Expanses of Helmindur, and the Grand Empire of Solictica. Each empire prospered, and there was peace for many years. However, around 5500 AD, a new god of dark magic did some terrible things: he captured many creatures (giants, dragons, elves, and humans alike) and tortured them into new, horrible creatures. These beings rapidly grew in population, and before the world knew it, swarmed the continents. That was the end of the Peace of A Thousand Years. Each High Kingdom soon began to rediscover the art of war, and began to use it against the invaders. After centuries of fighting, the threat was finished. However, the wars had left the High Kingdoms in ruin, and thereby ended the Third Era. Fourth Era (9000 - 12000 AD): The Age of Heroes The world was left, once again, in chaos. The world had grown more dark, as more monsters swarmed it. People lived in fear, and were never sure to wake next morning. It were dark times. However, previous era had shown something new to the world: the concept of individuals. Throughout the Era, individual heroes rose and fell, while battling monsters and villains of great power. Many of these individuals are remembered still today. And even though the world was delighted every time a hero slew a dragon, the world remained a dark and fearful place. The demons, in the main time, had not sat quiet after their banishment. They were raising massive armies to break the banishment, and conquer the world of men. After milennia of plotting, they launched an attack. The attack is known as the Second Demon War. The war raged over the continents, spreading like a storm. Vast reaches fell, and many people died. Eventually, a powerful group of heroes (called the Hand of Light) were able to unite all the elven and dwarven kingdoms and defend their homelands. The war lasted for almost five hundred years, ending when the Hand of Light defeated the Nine Demon Lords in an epic battle. The Demon Aflame, however, could not be defeated, so instead they took a dire risk: they awakened the Ancient Ones. These saw the evil done by the Demon Aflame and united once more to bind him with shackles of pure magic: the ley tunnels. While the demons were cast back into their realms, Marinistantyo was bound into the center of earth, forever imprisoned. There, his own grand magic enhanced to the magic the world naturally had, and so enstrengthened the magical field. Fifth Era (12000-1500 AD): The Age of Magic The union of the dwarven and elven kingdoms remained strong after the Second Demon War. With the magic of the world enhanced, they were able to construct marvels of magic the world hadn't seen before. Magic became a form of industry, and thereby greatly enhanced the wealth of the people who lived in this world. Great cities were constructed, the newfound leytunnels were used to transport people quickly all over the world, and civilization grew and grew. Many grand empires were constructed, and trade and war both prospered. It was in this era that elven historians first became able to figure out how the world was created. These were still speculations, however, and many of their guesses proved wrong. Still, it was a revolution in thought. However, in 10 846 AD, the world did a terrible invention: the use of magic in war. A major war between two grand empires first saw the construction of this dreadful thing. Thereafter, almost all empires started to develop magical blast units in their armies, as in a game of who was the most dangerous. Aroun 11 000, it finally went wrong. War was declared, and almost the entire world took part in this conflict. The war raged without measure for five centuries, destroying much of what once was constructed. Mountains were levelled or raised, seas were filled, chunks of continent were sunk, good farmland was turned into desert, and cities vanished into the Dream. The war was so grand it threatened to break the ley tunnels, unleash the Demon Aflame, and thereby destroy the world. After five hundred years of terror, a grand archmage named Karsus took the gamble. He travelled to the hidden isle where Astyanax slumbered, and (using the dangerous magic called soulmelding) sealed the isle away of the Dream, using his own soul. This temporarily stopped the ability to cast arcane magic, and thereby ended the war. After some time, some magic managed to seep through the seals, and influenced the Dream. However, the majority of magic was kept safely. Sixth Era (1500 - 18500 AD): The Age of the Heirs The world was broken as it never had been before. Empires were scattered, constructions destroyed. The entire landscape was different, and the aftershocks of the war still hit the lands. There was much death in the world, and yet, some survived. Those few who were able to survive finally grasped some amount of civilization again. Primitive villages started to exist once more. Within a thousand years, the world had recovered somewhat. With the arcane magic bonded, however, the dragons were seriously weakened. And their rivals, the aboleths, demons, and giants, began to enstrengthen. The new civilizations of men had to defend their homes against those monsters, who called themselves the Heirs (as they were heir to the magics). These 'monsters' had a far higher grasp of civilization than the humanoids, and so they started to dominate the world. Subterranean and Submarinean empires were controlled by the Dreamfish, the mountains by the Earth Folk, and the vulcanic areas by the Fiery People. The dragons clamped to their clouds and plains and dens, but were shamed more and more at the sight of their inferiority. Finally, in 14 000 AD, the dragons launched a plan. The remaining Dragon Elders went off to the Mountain of the Nine Gates, thereby provoking a war. That war came, and soon the world was swept again in agony, as aboleths battled demons, dragons fought with giants, giants duelled with demons, and dragons skirmished with aboleths. Many of the established kingdoms were shattered once again, as the humanoids were crushed between the four forces. A millennium raged the conflict, and grew more intense after the Dragon Elders managed to open the gate leading to the Isle of Time, and thereby broke the seals placed thousands of years before. The Ancient Ones themselves rose, and battled eachother. The Demon Aflame was released from his bonds, and vulcanoes grew more in number. Chaos ruled. Finally, a group of heroes set off to the same Mountain of the Nine Gates. They defeated all dangers, and finally found the mountain. They managed to open a gate long sealed, the Gate of the Storm Heavens. They opened it, and plead to the gods to interfere in this conflict. Finally, they agreed, and the gods rode with their celestial armies. They managed to wake the Three Elder Gods, and those encountered the Ancient Ones. As the divine armies marched against the Heirs, the Elder Gods forced the Ancient Ones to go asleep again. Those accepted, reluctantly, and the Gods withdrew their armies. The War of the Elements was over. Seventh Era (18500 - 21000 AD): The Age of the Dream The world was left blighted once more. Both the divine armies and the host of Heirs had withdrewn, and the world was scarred in many ways. Large parts of the continent of Okarynto had become burned to the core, while outstretched plains in the north now suffered from icy blizzards. The humanoids were scarcely able to maintain their kingdoms, and many an elven village or dwarven stronghold fell, simply from a lack of men. The Ancient Ones had withdrawn, as had the Elder Gods. It is in this age that the adventures begin. After untold centuries, the world recovered once more. This time, however, the four Elder Races made their presence known more directly, by carving out actual empires for themselves. The Kace Mountains on the continent of Allosinaba became inhabited by tens of thousands of dragons, who allied themselves with the growing empire of Qilin, while the giants and dwarves cooperated in the Ogeb Mountains to carve out a kingdom for themselves. All the same, large parts of the blighted continent of Okarynto were colonized by demons, who also began to insert a large pressure on the desert kingdom of Qe'Darash, while the rumara secretly took control of the Isles of Svantinor, and therefor of the entire Wall. This scenario will likely erupt once more into bloodshed. Category:Chronicles of Magic Category:History of Thurkear